Sinitsina & Zhiganshin with no support from Federation and with Tarasova talking bad about them finished on 4 a 7 place at their first European and World Champs (but with 2 top couples at European Champs and 3 top couples at World Champs out).

Yes, S&Z had a good result for their first Worlds. What surprises me about all this is how S&Z got drawn into the I&K drama. I think most people can understand why I&K are breaking apart if the rumors about their relationship deteriorating and Morozov coming between them are true. But if I&K are splitting up, why are S&Z breaking up? Is it because they were pressured into accommodating I&K's need for new partners? Or is it because S&Z were already unhappy in their own partnership and one of them decided to seize the opportunity of the I&K split to make a switch of their own?

Although S&Z finished well at Worlds, their FD was not perfect, and they ended up finishing behind G&P in the FD. Maybe their partnership was already feeling the strain of the I&K situation?

Yes, S&Z had a good result for their first Worlds. What surprises me about all this is how S&Z got drawn into the I&K drama. I think most people can understand why I&K are breaking apart if the rumors about their relationship deteriorating and Morozov coming between them are true. But if I&K are splitting up, why are S&Z breaking up? Is it because they were pressured into accommodating I&K's need for new partners? Or is it because S&Z were already unhappy in their own partnership and one of them decided to seize the opportunity of the I&K split to make a switch of their own?

The Russian forums say Nikita is dating Victoria and that's why he wants to skate with her. Even if it's not true, it's understandable that he would want someone else lined up before splitting with Elena, and I guess Victoria could see him as an upgrade over Ruslan. They didn't do that well at the Olympics, maybe that laid some doubts in her mind.

I spoke to someone yesterday who has talked to Elena - she says eventually she'll be OK and move on, but at the moment everything feels like a bad dream, she couldn't see this coming at all and she still doesn't know who she'll be partnered with in the future.

Yes, S&Z had a good result for their first Worlds. What surprises me about all this is how S&Z got drawn into the I&K drama. I think most people can understand why I&K are breaking apart if the rumors about their relationship deteriorating and Morozov coming between them are true. But if I&K are splitting up, why are S&Z breaking up? Is it because they were pressured into accommodating I&K's need for new partners? Or is it because S&Z were already unhappy in their own partnership and one of them decided to seize the opportunity of the I&K split to make a switch of their own?

Although S&Z finished well at Worlds, their FD was not perfect, and they ended up finishing behind G&P in the FD. Maybe their partnership was already feeling the strain of the I&K situation?

Maybe Sinitsina thought Katsalapov is much much more good looking than Zhiganshin Other than that I'm curious about this too.

Article from Elena Vaitsekhovskaya - she believes that thanks to the federation giving S/K time to consider whether they will work together, Nikita will be able to understand the amount of work it will take to make a new partnership work, and that they can't expect to seamlessly replace their old partners. The implication is that at the moment he doesn't really understand that, or hasn't thought about the position the new team will be in, especially as none of the other teams are sitting around waiting for Katsalapov to sort himself out, they are already working for next season. She then goes on to discuss how much the athletes should be free to make these kinds of decisions considering that they are in effect employees of the RFSF, and then how much they should be willing to fund this new project considering how much was already put into I/K and S/Z and how many other established dance teams there are in Russia. Then she praises Elena for her adult response to this in getting back on her feet quickly with Kustarova - she says a lot of coaches were interested, and Elena chose Kustarova after working with her last year when Morozov went to Japan for personal reasons & left his dancers in Moscow & Elena knew from this experience that Kustarova would work well with her. She also suggests I/Z may have an advantage because their coaching set up is established, where as S/K will also have to deal with Morozov setting up in New Jersey, a process that she says is not always easy.

Then she finishes by saying that it may still be possible that I/K won't split in the end, but that they would have to completely reassess who they train with, and there would always be the worry that these issues could raise their head again, and she points out that the cycle for 2018 has already begun, and the winners may not be the most talented, but it will be the team that manages to have a secure set up, trusting their partner & coaches, and who are willing to make sacrifices for those years to achieve what they want in their careers.

Then she finishes by saying that it may still be possible that I/K won't split in the end, but that they would have to completely reassess who they train with, and there would always be the worry that these issues could raise their head again, and she points out that the cycle for 2018 has already begun, and the winners may not be the most talented, but it will be the team that manages to have a secure set up, trusting their partner & coaches, and who are willing to make sacrifices for those years to achieve what they want in their careers.

Thanks for the recap. If they don't split up, I guess judges won't take them seriously afterall knowing that at any moment they again can have their issues. I mean judges wouldn't want to invest in irrelaible project.

Then she finishes by saying that it may still be possible that I/K won't split in the end, but that they would have to completely reassess who they train with, and there would always be the worry that these issues could raise their head again, and she points out that the cycle for 2018 has already begun, and the winners may not be the most talented, but it will be the team that manages to have a secure set up, trusting their partner & coaches, and who are willing to make sacrifices for those years to achieve what they want in their careers.

Originally Posted by Rubirosa

Thanks for the recap. If they don't split up, I guess judges won't take them seriously afterall knowing that at any moment they again can have their issues. I mean judges wouldn't want to invest in irrelaible project.

I would be more worried that if they don't split up, they would have wasted several months that their competitors have been using to prepare for their new season. So, let's say that in July/August Katsalapov realises that he is not getting with Sinitsina anywhere good enough to be Russian number 2 or 3 and that they may not end up even being sent to competitions (Europeans/Worlds). So he will approach Ilynikh and ask her to skate with him and what? If she does, they won't be suddenly prepared to start competing together in September or October; they won't have programs etc. But if she tells him that she is not interested any more, she will be risking her career to skate with 'the worse' partner.

I would be more worried that if they don't split up, they would have wasted several months that their competitors have been using to prepare for their new season. So, let's say that in July/August Katsalapov realises that he is not getting with Sinitsina anywhere good enough to be Russian number 2 or 3 and that they may not end up even being sent to competitions (Europeans/Worlds). So he will approach Ilynikh and ask her to skate with him and what? If she does, they won't be suddenly prepared to start competing together in September or October; they won't have programs etc. But if she tells him that she is not interested any more, she will be risking her career to skate with 'the worse' partner.

If they that did happen, they wouldn't have GP assignments, so they'd have a little more time, maybe do a senior B but that's all before Nationals, & then be ready for the 2nd half of the season. Maybe programs could be salvaged from whatever they'd done with their previous partners. But I think it's so unlikely to happen it's not worth worrying about.

Maybe Sinitsina thought Katsalapov is much much more good looking than Zhiganshin Other than that I'm curious about this too.

I think that probably Nikita and Andrew Poje would be one of the main contenders for Mister Universe on the ice. It would be interesting to see a promenande in swim suit, I would suggest singing like free discipline and I would definitely fall of laught of they would tell in their final speech: “I want a World peace!“ like all models are saying.
But unfortunately until ISU will not accept Mister Universe like another Olympic discipline we should force dancers to skate and dance brilliantly on the first place. But of course dance ladies can have their own opinions...

Article from Elena Vaitsekhovskaya - she believes that thanks to the federation giving S/K time to consider whether they will work together, Nikita will be able to understand the amount of work it will take to make a new partnership work, and that they can't expect to seamlessly replace their old partners. The implication is that at the moment he doesn't really understand that, or hasn't thought about the position the new team will be in, especially as none of the other teams are sitting around waiting for Katsalapov to sort himself out, they are already working for next season. She then goes on to discuss how much the athletes should be free to make these kinds of decisions considering that they are in effect employees of the RFSF, and then how much they should be willing to fund this new project considering how much was already put into I/K and S/Z and how many other established dance teams there are in Russia. Then she praises Elena for her adult response to this in getting back on her feet quickly with Kustarova - she says a lot of coaches were interested, and Elena chose Kustarova after working with her last year when Morozov went to Japan for personal reasons & left his dancers in Moscow & Elena knew from this experience that Kustarova would work well with her. She also suggests I/Z may have an advantage because their coaching set up is established, where as S/K will also have to deal with Morozov setting up in New Jersey, a process that she says is not always easy.

Then she finishes by saying that it may still be possible that I/K won't split in the end, but that they would have to completely reassess who they train with, and there would always be the worry that these issues could raise their head again, and she points out that the cycle for 2018 has already begun, and the winners may not be the most talented, but it will be the team that manages to have a secure set up, trusting their partner & coaches, and who are willing to make sacrifices for those years to achieve what they want in their careers.

Thanks for translation, you catched the main point.
How much is an athlete free for doing such decisions, that is a real question. Behaviour of Russian Federation shows that Nikita is probably the first skater in Russia who is not really criticised by Federation for such decision – they are giving him a time and they allow him to tryout with Victoria and nobody knows for how long.
I think that destroying two top Russian couples (and both couples are very promising and young and this season’s results were great)…that is a bad decision and it will affect Russian Dance for next four years – how much that is also a question. From this way of view it looks like a very bad decision from Russian Federation to think about a split and creating new couples.
From other side skaters were paid for every season and money for I&K from this season came back in two Olympic medals and European Medal, so Nikita can take it like he paid up the bill and now he is free...

Originally Posted by uhh

The Russian forums say Nikita is dating Victoria and that's why he wants to skate with her. Even if it's not true, it's understandable that he would want someone else lined up before splitting with Elena, and I guess Victoria could see him as an upgrade over Ruslan. They didn't do that well at the Olympics, maybe that laid some doubts in her mind.

To question why he left Lena….and that he dates Victoria…it is an interesting idea. http://ask.fm/Nikita_Chempion
This page was confirmed to be real Nikita’s page by Adelina Sotnikova.
He was asked why he skates with Lena if he doesn’t love her and he answered that he and Lena suit very well to each other, that they take skating seriously and that looking at fact what fan writes about – if skaters don’t love each other it would mean that they have to split? – he looks to take this fan’s question like a bad joke. He looks to be sceptic to idea that love and ice relationship must go hand in hand.
…this question was answered 9 days ago. (When he already knew that he would left Lena for sure.)

Different approach to figure skating is also visible for both Nikita and Ruslan.
While Nikita in 2012 interview answered that he doesn’t know a couple who would skate together and not date (he told they all couples usually got married)…
Two years ago Ruslan answered some fans/friend‘s answer about dating ice dancers on Twitter and he told that 90% of dancers are not dating, that they only play their role on the ice. Funny, two guys from one country, the same skating school and totally different ideas.

Viki is beautiful girl, I am sure they will date with Nikita if they are not dating yet. But I am not sure if this is strong enought reason for splitting two of three best couples. If they simply couldn’t stay without each other, Lena and Nikita could go to Kustarova / Alexeeva or to another Moscow coach as well to allow Victoria and Nikita be together. There were rumours all the time at Russian Forums that I&K will leave Morozov after this season (but the same rumours were made in last season as well). Why to solve love romance in this way?

How much is an athlete free for doing such decisions, that is a real question. Behaviour of Russian Federation shows that Nikita is probably the first skater in Russia who is not really criticised by Federation for such decision – they are giving him a time and they allow him to tryout with Victoria and nobody knows for how long.
I think that destroying two top Russian couples (and both couples are very promising and young and this season’s results were great)…that is a bad decision and it will affect Russian Dance for next four years – how much that is also a question. From this way of view it looks like a very bad decision from Russian Federation to think about a split and creating new couples.
From other side skaters were paid for every season and money for I&K from this season came back in two Olympic medals and European Medal, so Nikita can take it like he paid up the bill and now he is free...

I don't think it works like that. Russian Federation invested in them for all those years, not only the last year when they brought a few medals. The Federation invested in them even those years when they were not successful, it is a long term project and as such it is not repaid by a few medals. If you imagine how much would have been spent in their training costs, hiring some extra specialists such as acrobats or dancers, massages, physio etc, it sounds a bit naive to claim that the medals repaid it. That would be the most expensive medals in the history!

If you are employed by someone, are you in position of choosing with whom you want to work? What if you invested in some long term project (because bringing up ice dancers to be world competitive is not only a project for one season) and then when you are near to getting rewards for your investment, someone decided to abandon the project? Would you be happy loosing the money you invested for the last 6 years?